


The Umbrella

by MCEWEN



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alinash, Fletch (Fleteron), Gen, Knights of Naren, ruby - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 06:56:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15903171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MCEWEN/pseuds/MCEWEN
Summary: Ruby is waiting when it starts to rain.





	The Umbrella

Ruby frowned as a large drop of rain hit her arm. Where was he this time? Hopefully, he hadn’t forgotten about her. He did that sometimes. She was pretty sure most parents didn’t forget they had a kid, but then he wasn’t like most parents.

Quite honestly, she was glad he wasn’t. Most other kids her age, even those in the slums, didn’t have the freedom she had. Her father was more like a business partner— one she had to live with and follow his rules, of which, there weren’t many. She was only fourteen, but he treated her almost as an equal.

She moved closer to the wall in hopes it would provide a little shelter while she watched other people walk by. She was jealous when they began to pull out their umbrellas. Another drop of rain hit her skin, then another.

Where was he?

A bell tolled in the distance. He was definitely late now, and she was definitely going to get wet. She looked down the street to see if she could see him coming, but there wasn’t enough light.

Suddenly, the rain stopped.

Or it hadn't. She looked up to see an umbrella over her head, then to the side to see a boy standing there next to her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. We can share my umbrella for a bit. Are you waiting for someone?”

He was about her age, an elf just like she was, and seemed to be polite. That was all she knew. She didn’t recognize him from anywhere. Still, standing with a stranger was better than getting wet. “Yeah, I am. Umm, thanks.”

“My name is Fletch. What’s yours?”

“Fletch? What kind of name is that?”

“Well, it’s a nickname. My actual name is Fleteron, but everyone calls me Fletch.”

She studied him a moment before speaking again. He was cute, but she still thought he had a stupid name. “My name is Ruby.”

“Is that short for something?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“My father told me that he called me a little gem at first.”

“Oh, I see, so your parents went with Ruby on your name day.”

“Yeah. That’s it.” She loved it when people filled in the lies for her. In truth, she was nameless, as was her father, which is why they were stuck in the slums. This boy might be cute, but he couldn’t know that about her, not in this part of the city.

“I live just two blocks from here. I haven’t seen you in school. Do you have an apprenticeship?”

“Oh no, I live across the city and I study there.” Sort of true. She did study with Trina sometimes, but she had never set foot in a real school. She hated lying, especially to a cute boy who seemed to have good intentions, but if he knew the truth things could go very badly very quickly.

“Oh. I was hoping to plan to run into you again.” He smiled.

She wanted to melt. He was even cuter when he smiled. “Well, um, I come to this area sometimes. I mean, the city isn’t so big.”

“I’m surprised your parents let you go on your own. Not all of the city is so safe.”

He was close to her. She studied his face. Yes, very cute. She caught sight of movement on the other side of him. She looked across the street. It was him, her father.

“Um, sorry, I have to go.” She hurried off into the rain, crossing the street and ducking down the alley she saw her father disappear into.

A hand grabbed her by the upper arm. She stopped, and the hand released. “You weren’t followed, were you?”

She had remembered to check that. The cute boy had stood there as she hurried away and hadn’t made any attempt to follow her. “He didn’t follow.”

“Who was he?” her father asked as he started further down the alley.

She walked beside him, “His name was Fletch. I guess he goes to a school near here, and he had an umbrella.” That last point was something she missed already as the rain was picking up.

“Fletch? Sounds fake.”

“It’s a nickname.”

“I saw the way you looked at him.” Her father stopped walking and started inspecting the corner of the building next to them. The bricks had been laid in a way that there were notches all the way up to the roof. “You liked him.”

“He was cute,” Ruby admitted.

“I’ve told you before, you’re wasting your time. They don’t want people like us. Now, let’s get up to the roof before someone sees us.”

She frowned and nodded. He was probably right.


End file.
